Outside the side hall of Tenshukaku.
“Just now… did you hear what they were shouting in there?”
A young Okuzumeshu samurai stood near the steps a short distance from the side hall, leaning toward his senior colleague with a deeply peculiar expression.
“Ahem…” The older samurai coughed softly and lowered his voice.
“I only heard General Kujou yelling things like ‘deceit’ and ‘pervert’…”
“That’s not all!” The young samurai swallowed hard, his eyes wide with shock.
“I also heard Lord Lu Heng scream at the top of his lungs… ‘I haven’t even held a girl’s hand yet!'”
Thanks to the exceptionally solid construction materials of Tenshukaku, the life-and-death standoff inside trickled out into nothing more than these disjointed fragments.
“Old man… what are they doing in there?” The young samurai’s worldview had been severely shaken.
Had the stern, expressionless General Kujou barged in so furiously for something other than official affairs?
The older samurai smiled without saying a word.
He reached out, patted his junior’s shoulder, and let out a long sigh into the night sky.
“That, my boy, is youth.”
“I get it!” The young samurai gasped sharply, his eyes instantly filling with awe.
“The two of them are both intensely loyal to the Almighty Ogosho! This is… between loyal servant and loyal servant… What a sacred bond!”
He took another sharp breath, his expression shifting from awe to a somewhat gossipy grin.
“Could it be… that our usually stoic General Kujou paid a late-night visit because she thought Lord Lu Heng was… flirting around outside?!”
“So she denounced him as a ‘pervert’ and a ‘fraud,’ while Lord Lu Heng was trying to explain that he’s actually a pure-hearted innocent?!”
The older samurai nodded with satisfaction, looking like a proud master whose pupil had finally understood.
The two stood straight again, even thoughtfully shuffling a few steps outward to grant the two inside plenty of privacy.
***
Meanwhile, inside the room, the atmosphere was quiet and tense.
The two were locked in an intensely rigid standoff.
Kujou Sara’s dark-gold eyes glared intently into Lu Heng’s, and Lu Heng didn’t flinch.
At last, she drew a deep breath.
*Clang!* Her blade returned to its sheath.
“For the time being, I will be watching you. If I discover even the slightest treasonous act—whether it be corruption for personal gain or anything that harms the Shogun’s grand design—I will personally take your head.”
Kujou Sara resumed her cold, expressionless demeanor.
Hearing this promise, Lu Heng’s tense nerves finally relaxed.
“Rest assured, Lady Sara!” Lu Heng gritted out a grin that softened into a bright, sincere smile.
“I, Lu Heng, am wholeheartedly devoted to the Shogun!”
Seeing Lu Heng’s smile—so frank and devoid of any lingering malice—Sara snorted, choosing not to press the issue further. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“I will spare your life for now. But as for your proposal about continuous oversight… As the General of the Tenryou Commission, I have military duties to attend to—”
“You don’t need to worry about that at all!” Seeing Kujou Sara’s hesitation, Lu Heng cut in hastily with an earnest tone.
“Your loyalty to Her Excellency is as clear as the sun and moon! To eliminate all misunderstandings between us and prevent traitorous snakes from driving a wedge between us ever again, I can apply to Her Excellency to have you transferred directly to my side so we can advance the Eternal Paradise project together!”
“Traitorous snakes?”
Hearing Lu Heng slyly slander her adoptive father, Kujou Sara’s face went cold.
“Lu Heng, mind your words! Clan Master Kujou’s loyalty to the Shogun is beyond reproach. If you are trying to stir up discord—”
“Perhaps.” Lu Heng offered a noncommittal smile, a meaningful gleam flashing across his eyes.
Before Sara could defend her adoptive father further, he smoothly shifted the subject, his tone becoming light and candid.
“Still, one can never be too cautious—whether toward myself or the Kujou Clan. Rather than having me worry in secret, why not suspend the Shogunate’s ‘sharpest blade’ directly above my head? That way, not only can I put my mind at ease, but Her Excellency can rest completely easy as well. Wouldn’t you agree?”
With that, Lu Heng waved his hand, decisively cutting off the somewhat heavy topic.
“Alright, Lady Sara, let’s set this aside for now. Let me take you to see the Almighty Ogosho first.”
“Huh?!” The battle-tested Tengu general was caught completely off guard by Lu Heng’s erratic leap in logic.
“W-What are we meeting the Shogun for?”
“To report to Her Excellency, of course—that Lady Sara cares deeply for the nation and has volunteered to be reassigned to assist with the Eternal Paradise project.” Lu Heng spoke with righteous self-assurance.
“The Eternal Paradise project is the national policy Her Excellency cares about most! Since you intend to supervise it, naturally you must ask Her Excellency directly. What, do you not wish to share Her Excellency’s burdens?”
Sara’s golden eyes quivered slightly.
She had charged into Tenshukaku today with a resolve to slay a traitorous official, fully prepared to lay down her life.
Yet now, this very “traitorous villain” was inviting her, an assassin, to meet the Shogun, and was even eagerly pushing her to participate in the grand undertaking the Shogun held so dear.
*Could I…
really have misunderstood him?
Was Clan Master Kujou’s intelligence mistaken?
This man showed no fear in the face of death, and now he is acting with such open, honorable sincerity…*
*Such an open and loyal servant…* The instant this thought crossed her mind, Sara caught the fleeting glint of sly cunning in Lu Heng’s eyes.
*No!
If this man was truly so eager to see the Shogun, why did he waste so much time talking nonsense with me earlier?
This is a deliberate ploy—using a retreat to advance!
He wants to use the trip to the main hall as a pretext to dismiss me!*
*Tsk, what a sinister scheme!* Kujou Sara made up her mind then and there: she would definitely ask Her Excellency to let her stay right by this man’s side! Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.
“Fine, I agree! We shall meet the Almighty Ogosho right now!” Sara’s gaze hardened, and she moved to head toward the main hall.
“Ah, Lady Sara, hold on a moment! We can’t go report our work to Her Excellency empty-handed.” Lu Heng stepped forward with a smile, naturally blocking her path.
Kujou Sara’s brows furrowed, and she sneered inwardly.
*As expected!
The fox shows its tail!
He was just looking for an excuse to back out!*
“What I mean is, sharpening your axe won’t delay the woodcutting.” Lu Heng smiled with utmost innocence.
“Since you are taking over supervision of this project, you will need a thorough understanding of Inazuma’s current grass-roots situation. How about we assemble a detailed dossier first before seeking an audience? Her Excellency will surely be far more pleased that way. What do you think?”
Sara pondered briefly.
Not only was there no flaw in his logic, but it aligned perfectly with her rigorous military style.
She gave a slow nod.
“Logical. Where do we begin?”
*Thump!*
A thick dossier slammed heavily onto the desk.
“Ah! I knew Lady Sara was a person of great sense!”
Before Sara could react, Lu Heng smoothly pulled out the chair in front of the desk and guided her down into the seat with an irresistible air of authority.
*Bang!* “These are the refugee statistics for Byakko Plain!”
*Bang!* “These are the financial records for foreign merchants on Rito!”
*Bang!* “These are the agricultural reports for fifty-two villages around Inazuma City…”
“I entrust the documents for these fifty-two villages entirely to you, Lady Sara! Please be sure to cross-check their population baselines, local specialty categories, and funding deficits before dawn!”
Lu Heng’s words rattled off like rapid gunfire.
As he spoke, he deftly stacked pile after pile of official documents directly in front of Sara.
“As you know, this work concerns Her Excellency’s grand undertaking. If I don’t hand it to someone meticulous and absolutely loyal, I simply can’t put my mind at ease! Oh, right, here are the metrics for small and medium shops in Inazuma City…”
In less than half a minute, a mountain of paper towered before Kujou Sara, completely blocking her view ahead.
Without giving her a chance to protest, Lu Heng thrust an ink-dipped brush into her hand, even thoughtfully trimming the wick of the oil lamp beside her to brighten the desk.
The Tengu general, with the brush forcefully pressed into her fingers, sat frozen in her chair.
She stared up at the mountain of paperwork.
Behind the massive stacks, her cold, breathtaking face suddenly looked small, pitiful, and utterly helpless.
Lu Heng rubbed his hands together, his eyes curling into delighted crescents like a fox that had gotten its way.
His tone was gentle as he spoke: “There’s no time to lose, General. Shall we begin right away?”
That night, Miss Tengu didn’t get a single wink of sleep.